Conservation of natural resources — questions and answers
5 high-yield, syllabus-aligned questions on Conservation of natural resources, covering 14 individually creditable mark points. Each one shows the answer that scores full marks under our guide, which phrase earns which mark, and a common incomplete answer — so you can see the difference rather than guess at it.
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Every question and solution is reviewed by examiners versed in WAEC and JAMB, each with more than thirty years of experience.
Mark allocations are TopMarks’ own, written against the published syllabus and Chief Examiners’ reports. They are a guide to how these answers are usually credited, not an official marking scheme.
Define2 marks
Define conservation.
TopMarks model answer
Conservation is the careful management and protection of natural resources so that they are used wisely and are not exhausted, in order that they remain available for the present generation and for future generations.
Suggested marking guide
1Careful management, protection or wise use of resources
2So that they remain available for the future
Why it scores
Conservation is not preservation. Preservation means leaving something untouched; conservation means USING it in a way that does not exhaust it. The second mark is for the future — “for generations yet unborn” — and it is the half of the definition most often missing.
A common incomplete answer
“Conservation means protecting the environment from damage.”
What it costs: One mark of two. Protection is credited, but nothing is said about wise use or about keeping the resource available for future generations.
Forest roots hold the soil together and so prevent soil erosion. Forests act as watersheds, reducing run-off and maintaining the water table. They absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen during photosynthesis, so they moderate climate and reduce global warming. They provide habitats for wildlife and preserve biodiversity, and they supply timber, fuel and medicinal plants.
Suggested marking guide
1Prevention of soil erosion
2Maintenance of the water table or reduction of run-off
3Absorption of carbon dioxide and moderation of climate
4Habitat, biodiversity or useful products
Why it scores
Four marks, four different categories of reason: soil, water, atmosphere, and living resources. Grouping your answer that way makes it almost impossible to repeat yourself, which is how candidates most often turn four available marks into two.
A common incomplete answer
“Forests prevent erosion and they give us timber for building.”
What it costs: Two marks of four. Both are credited, but nothing is said about water, and nothing about carbon dioxide and climate.
Key ideas to include: soil erosion, watershed, water table, carbon dioxide, biodiversity, timber.
Explain3 marks
Explain three effects of bush burning on an ecosystem.
TopMarks model answer
Bush burning destroys the vegetation cover, exposing the soil to the direct impact of rain and wind so that soil erosion increases. It kills soil organisms and burns the humus, so the fertility and nutrient content of the soil fall. It destroys the habitats of animals, killing some and driving others away, so that biodiversity is reduced.
Suggested marking guide
1Exposes soil and increases erosion
2Destroys humus and soil organisms, reducing fertility
3Destroys habitats and reduces biodiversity
Why it scores
“Explain” means each effect needs its mechanism attached: not “it causes erosion” but “it removes the vegetation cover, so the soil is exposed and erosion increases”. The mechanism is the sentence the mark is actually paying for.
A common incomplete answer
“Bush burning kills the animals living in the bush.”
What it costs: One mark of three, and only just — the habitat idea is implied. Nothing is said about the soil, which is where two of the three marks were sitting.
Wildlife is conserved by establishing game reserves and national parks in which animals are protected in their natural habitat. Laws are enacted to prohibit indiscriminate hunting and poaching, and closed seasons are declared during breeding periods. Endangered species are bred in captivity in zoos and breeding centres and later released, and the public is educated on the value of wildlife.
Suggested marking guide
1Game reserves, national parks or sanctuaries
2Laws against hunting and poaching, or closed seasons
3Captive breeding or public education
Why it scores
Three marks want three different KINDS of method — a place-based one, a legal one, and a breeding or educational one. Two names of two different reserves is still one method.
A common incomplete answer
“By creating game reserves where the animals are safe.”
What it costs: One mark of three. Correct, but the legal and the breeding or educational methods are both untouched.
Key ideas to include: game reserve, national park, poaching, closed season, captive breeding, public education.
Explain2 marks
Explain the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources, giving one example of each.
TopMarks model answer
A renewable resource is one that can be replaced naturally or by human effort after use, so it is not permanently exhausted; timber from a replanted forest is an example. A non-renewable resource is one that cannot be replaced once it is used up, because it took millions of years to form; crude oil is an example.
Suggested marking guide
1Renewable can be replaced, with a valid example
2Non-renewable cannot be replaced, with a valid example
Why it scores
The examples are not optional decoration — the question asks for them, so each mark is only complete when the definition AND its example are both present. This is the cheapest mark in the topic and the one most often forfeited by candidates who define both terms beautifully and then stop.
A common incomplete answer
“Renewable resources can be replaced but non-renewable resources cannot be replaced.”
What it costs: Both marks. The definitions are correct, but the question explicitly asked for one example of each and neither was given, so neither mark point is complete.
Practise Conservation of natural resources on real questions
Reading a full-mark answer is the first half. Writing one under time is the other. A free account opens exam-standard practice in Biology with the full solution on every question.